When life hands you lemons (or any kind of citrus), zest ’em, juice ’em, make all kinds of good things with ’em. Here’s how to freeze lemons: the zest and the juice.
Once upon a time, I grew up in a fairytale castle with a golden tree growing in the backyard….
Ok, so it wasn’t a castle, but gold really did grow in the backyard. Lemon gold. The lemon tree “came with the house,”and produced hundreds of lemons every year.
Lemons are different than their citrus cousins in that you don’t typically eat them fresh. Instead, you use them as garnish or take their zest and juice to enhance both savory and sweet recipes. They are flavoring, if you will.
I learned pretty quickly that how to make the most of the treasure from the backyard. I taught myself to make Lemon Meringue Pie as well as Old-Fashioned Lemonade. But, one can only eat so much pie and drink so much lemonade.
Pictured: Honey Lemon Cheesecake Bars Recipe
When you can’t use something up before it spoils, you have to find some way to preserve the harvest. And that’s where your freezer comes to the rescue. I have learned how to freeze yogurt, freeze vegetables, fruits, and herbs, and of course freeze berries. So then it prompted the question…
Can you freeze lemons?
While it’s not recommended to freeze whole lemons, you can freeze both the zest and the juice as well as slices encased in ice cubes.
When is lemon season?
Lemon season starts in fall and continues into spring, so no matter where you live (north of the equator), you should be finding those beautiful yellow globes at a lower price than normal right about now.
Stock up when you see a good sale (or get cozy with friends and neighbors with a backyard tree) and sock the extra away in the freezer.
How to Freeze Lemons: Zest & Juice
There are 3 easy ways to freeze lemons:
- Zest the fruit and freeze it.
- Juice the lemons and freeze the juice.
- Make lemon ice cubes!
No matter the variety, I suggest these wonderfully freezer friendly options to freeze lemons or other citrus:
Zest the citrus fruit.
Lemon zest contains a huge amount of flavor. It’s the colorful, oily part of the fruit’s skin that imparts lemony flavor into baked goods and savory recipes.
It’s best to zest the lemon before you juice it. However, as a kid I learned this the hard way. I also learned you can freeze the juiced half until firm and that will help you get the zest off if you did it backwards.
How to zest lemons:
- Wash the lemons well.
- Scrape off the zest with a zester or microplane. Don’t go too deep, into the white, that is bitter.
- Store it in an airtight container in your freezer to use in recipes throughout the coming months.
You can do this for lemons, limes, grapefruits, and oranges, just store the different kinds of zest separately.
Juice the citrus.
Lemon juice freezes beautifully. I regularly keep containers of juice in my freezer to pull out whenever we have a craving for lemonade or need to make Medicine Ball Tea.
- Wash the lemons well.
- With a powered citrus juicer for citrus or a manual citrus juicer, juice the lemons.
- Freeze it in small containers for later use. You can even freeze it in ice cube trays, transfer the lemon cubes to another container or a ziploc bag and return it to the freezer.
- Store the lemon juice in the freezer until ready to use.
Make lemon ice cubes.
You can freeze sliced lemons in water for the ideal infused spa water. The fruit flavors the water as the ice melts.
Head here for how to make Lemon Ice Cubes.
Best Lemon Recipes
Use the lemon juice and/or zest in these good cheap eats:
Lemon Herbed Vinaigrette
Enjoy a bright and flavorful salad dressed with this homemade Lemon Herbed Vinaigrette. It mixes up in minutes and packs a punch with lemon, garlic, and herbs.
Lemon Roasted Potatoes
Stir up a pan of Lemon Roasted Potatoes for a bright and flavorful side dish. Enhanced with lemon zest, dill weed, and paprika, these spuds are spectacular!
Lemon and Herb Rice Pilaf
Ditch the expensive, boxed rice mixes for this easy homemade lemon and herb rice pilaf. You'll be wondering why you didn't do it sooner.
Baked Rice with Lemon and Thyme
If you’re already heating the oven, slide in a pan of this easy baked rice for a great side dish. It’s practically hands-free and produces perfect rice.
Herbed Lemon Linguine with Tomatoes
Enjoy a quick and easy weeknight dinner that’s good enough for guests with this Herbed Lemon Linguine. It’s light and flavorful, a perfect meatless main.
Make Lemon Cubes
Preserve lemon or other citrus slices in ice for a deliciously cool addition to water. The fruit will infuse your water as the ice melts.
Lemonade like Chick-Fil-A Makes
Homemade lemonade tastes so much better than the frozen concentrate. This recipe is super simple and delicious.
Strawberry Lemonade
Enjoy the tastes of summer all year long in this Strawberry Lemonade. Whether the fruit is fresh or frozen, you'll be enjoying this delicious drink in just minutes.
Lemon Blueberry Scones
Tender scones are studded with blueberries and scented with lemon, making for an ultimate breakfast or tea time snack.
Lemon Ginger Bars
Lemon and ginger are perfect partners, especially when combined in a classic lemon bar. Bake a batch to eat now and one to freeze for later.
Lemon Drop Scones
Bake someone happy with these lemony drop scones. They are delicious, nutritious, and super easy to make.
Lemon Walnut Coffeecake
Fortified with whole wheat pastry flour and chopped nuts, this Lemon Walnut Coffeecake is just the thing to take the edge off a sweet tooth.
Lemon Meringue Pie
Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie is not complicated to make, but it feels like a million dollars. It’s tart and sweet, buttery and creamy, a perfect pie to celebrate a special occasion or enjoy any day.
Lemon Buttercream Frosting
Lemon is one of my favorite flavors. It’s bright and sunshiny and says, “Be happy.” It also tastes delicious in this luscious Lemon Buttercream Frosting.
Lemon Meringue Cookies - Gluten and Dairy Free
Bake up a batch of lemony, light, and fluffy clouds of meringue. These Lemon Meringue Cookies are a fun addition to your cookie plate.
Easy Lemon Cupcakes Recipe
These Easy Lemon Cupcakes may start with a box, but they get zing and zip from yogurt and lemon added to the mix. They are simple and delicious!
Honey Lemon Cheesecake Bars Recipe
Looking for a more wholesome sweet? Try these Honey Lemon Cheesecake Bars, naturally sweetened with honey, and packed with sweet-tart lemon flavor.
Meyer Lemon Tea Muffins
Tea, yogurt, and lemon zest add zip and zing and delicious lemon flavor to these muffins. Bake a basket to share with a friend.
Frozen Lemonade
This is a refreshing and easy dessert or cooler that you can whip up at a moment’s notice. No need for special equipment or long freezing times. As long as you have a sturdy blender, you can enjoy this frozen lemonade anytime.
Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce & Cream Cheese
Enjoy Gingerbread with lemon sauce and cream cheese. While the cake bakes, mix up the tasty toppings for a traditional dessert that can’t be beat.
Mixed Berry Pie with Cinnamon and Lemon
A mix of berries in the filling and cinnamon and lemon zest in the crust make for a practically perfect pie.
Amber B
I freeze lemon juice and ice cube trays, but I didn’t know that you could freeze lemon zest too. I have a bag of lemons and I’m going to try that today.
Jessica Fisher
Let me know how it goes!
Margie
If your oven has a “proof” setting, you can spread the zest on parchment paper and set for an hour or so, when it is cooled, store in a spice jar. ?
Erika
Perfect timing! I just harvested a ‘kings ransom’ of limes from our tree in Maui! I was thinking about dehydrating the zest, but freezing it seems like a better option for on the fly baking. Thanks for the post! =)
Beth
Oh honey, Kansas City is hardly the frozen tundra. 🙂
Tammy @ Skinny Mom's Kitchen
I was so happy to see this post in my email this morning! I absolutely LOVE baking and cooking with lemons. My friends always joke with me and say “did you add lemon to it” 🙂 I submitted my Skinny Blueberry Lemon Muffins. They freezer perfectly too!
Dia
Oh, I am envious of the lemon tree. That would be so awesome compared to our pines!
Thanks for the recipes, can’t wait to try them. I even found some Meyer lemons at Walmart recently that I get to try for the first time!
Wendy (The Local Cook)
Thanks for hosting! and for reminding me about the lime ginger marmalade recipe that I linked up. I really need to make that again. YUM!
Susie's Homemade
Great tips! Did you know that by just adding a slice of lemon to water at the dinner table helps in digestion? I love that tip:-)
Jen Blacker
Thank you for hosting. I shared my lemon pepper shrimp scampi. I don’t have it often due to the price of shrimp. It’s a treat.
Kristia {Family Balance Sheet}
WOW, I try not to get too jealous of other people, but to be able to have a lemon and/or lime trees in the back yard…I’m jealous. I live in PA and lemon trees just do not grow here. Oh the possibilities when you don’t have to pay the ridiculous price; they can be so expensive.
I submitted a great grilling recipe: http://www.familybalancesheet.org/2010/07/grilled-garlic-lemon-shrimp.html
Thanks for the linkup.
Kristin
Why did I never think to freeze the zest ?!? Great tip!